Aure

"It's Laimir."

"The patriarch's youngest son."

"Although he's not low in status, given his lack of ability, he's basically an outsider in the Leiyo family by now, isn't he?"

Several elderly vampires dressed in dark ceremonial robes whispered among themselves, their scorn barely concealed. Their scarlet eyes exchanged glances in the candlelight, their gazes drifting seemingly casually toward the figure in the corner, then quickly lowering whenever they met the patriarch's line of sight.

Niya glanced over at that fellow.

His slender neck looked as if it would snap at the slightest pressure, his thin shoulders could barely support the heavy formal attire, and the whole of him radiated an unripe, youthful greenness. Even the way his toes turned slightly inward as he stood betrayed a certain timidity.

Sure enough, at first glance he looked like nothing more than a meek, cowering sort—no wonder the other clan members singled him out and belittled him.

The moment he accidentally met her eyes, Laimir immediately lowered his head, like a quail that had been startled. His long, slender fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of his coat—a black formal garment of fine quality but outdated cut.

Niya could sense that he wasn't actually that young—around a hundred years old or so—but his appearance still retained the form of a lad in his early teens.

That was nothing unusual; Niya herself maintained the petite figure of a little girl... She had been this size back when Lady Aina had saved her, and besides, it allowed her to occasionally act coy and spoiled around Lady Aina.

"Come over here, Laimir, no need to be nervous." Patriarch Anlu's voice was warm and rich, and he beckoned to Laimir. "Lady Niya is a reasonable person. As long as you explain things clearly, she won't make things difficult for you."

The candlelight danced upon Anlu's silver-white hair, making his sharply defined features seem all the more handsome. The faint smile at the corner of his mouth struck just the right note—affable without losing any of a patriarch's authority.

Niya shot Anlu a sidelong glance. This man truly was meticulous in everything he did.

He did seem rather fond of his youngest son, though.

"That's right. All I'm looking for is that fellow named Aolei... As long as you hand him over, I won't take my anger out on anyone else." Niya let out a cold snort. "What exactly is your relationship with him?"

"Reporting to Your Grace the Duke, Aolei is my vampire thrall..." Laimir slowly raised his head, his gaze lingering more on his own father, as if seeking shelter. "Many years ago, when I was wandering among the humans, I encountered Aolei—gravely wounded, at death's door. At his desperate plea, I took him in as my thrall and transformed him into a vampire..."

"You see, Lady Niya? This boy has a good heart..." Anlu cut in at the perfect moment, a pleading smile still on his face.

"You talk too much, Anlu." Niya glanced at the patriarch.

"Very well, I'll shut up now." Anlu clapped a hand over his own mouth.

The relationship between Anlu and Niya was actually not bad at all—in fact, they were quite familiar with each other. Thanks to having a cooperative patriarch like Anlu around, Niya rarely had to bother herself with the affairs of the Leiyo family.

And so Anlu also knew her temperament well—though her face remained expressionless, her inner feelings ran deep, and Anlu knew exactly when he could joke around with her.

"And then? What happened to that fellow afterward?" Niya pressed Laimir.

"Well... these days I rarely stay in contact with Aolei, though he still sends me quite a few fine tributes every year." Laimir looked genuinely oblivious to Aolei's affairs. "Milord, what exactly has Aolei done?"

"Hmph."

Niya let out another cold snort. "Why don't you take a guess yourself."

Truth be told, she didn't know what had happened either. Lady Aina hadn't told her anything.

...

"That useless piece of trash."

Aolei muttered a curse under his breath, pacing restlessly on the spot.

Through the connection of blood, he already knew about Ruiwen's situation.

Assassinating some ordinary human without even the strength to truss a chicken—and failing at that? Only to be killed by a couple of greenhorn adventurers and end up rotting in a cell...

How could his men be this useless?

He couldn't afford to be exposed easily... If anyone traced things back to him, those bastards from the Wings of Dawn wouldn't go easy on him. Everything he had built would go up in smoke.

Aolei had also been hearing rumors lately—some people were already being purged. For instance, his former partner Laken had been stripped of his post outright for running an underground casino.

If Aolei's own matters came to light, the consequences would surely be far worse.

As a vampire, Aolei's situation was rather unusual.

Normally, someone like him—a thrall created by another vampire's transformation—could not continuously create thralls of their own. Only pure-blooded vampires could endlessly expand their ranks of thralls... But Lady Aina had strictly forbidden such behavior, keeping the vampire population within controlled limits.

However, after Aolei had become the thrall of that young master of the Leiyo family, something had changed—he had gained the ability to transform large numbers of thralls.

And the reason for this change was simple: Aolei's father had been a vampire.

In the past, Aolei had not inherited his father's abilities, being no different from an ordinary human... But after becoming a vampire's thrall, the vampire blood within his body had awakened anew.

Though Aolei had not gained the striking silver hair and crimson eyes that marked pure-blooded vampires, he had acquired power rivaling theirs.

Aolei was clever enough never to make a noise about this secret. Through patience and scheming, he had quietly built his own underground empire.

Vampires were forbidden to transform thralls at will... What did that have to do with him, a half-blood? He had none of the vampire marks; no one would ever suspect him.

By transforming thralls and granting those human nobles longer lifespans, Aolei had quickly amassed a great fortune—along with a host of devoted followers.

Of course, when you have many thralls, problems inevitably arise... Though these half-blood thralls obeyed him, he still had to solve the problem of their food supply.

Without blood, these lesser half-bloods would fail to suppress their craving, turning into monsters that attacked humans at random and caused trouble everywhere... And if that happened, his existence would soon be discovered.

So he had built blood farms.

At first, he simply kidnapped or purchased slaves and servants. Later, he systematically snatched children off the streets... After all, missing children were hardly a rare occurrence.

The people he had taken would never know freedom again—locked away in sunless underground cells, reduced to nothing more than raw material for blood production.

People were a precious resource, and great care was taken not to damage them. To produce higher-quality blood, his captives had to be given ample nutrition; to prevent mental breakdowns or self-harm among them, comfortable living quarters and recreational facilities had to be provided... All of this to ensure a steady supply of healthy blood.

Some children from impoverished families, once they arrived, were actually reluctant to leave.

Watching his blood farms grow ever larger, Aolei felt deeply satisfied.